Art contest for youngsters promotes reading for, to children

It’s 230,000 books and counting, that the Solano County Library has given away to very young readers as part of its investment in a nationwide program — Reach Out and Read.

Now, Library Literary Services officials are looking for young artists to help with that program by creating a piece of art about the joys of reading, program assistant Teresa Lavell said.

“We’re trying to encourage kids to draw pictures of their favorite stories or anything else reading related that we can turn into posters to go on clinic walls, again to encourage kids to read,” she said.

This is the first effort of its kind, she said. There is no age limit and the art can take any form and be on any paper, she said. Entries can be brought in or mailed to any Solano County Library branch.

Reach Out and Read is active in 12 Solano County pediatric clinics and gives young children a foundation for success by incorporating books into pediatric care and encouraging families to read aloud together, according to a news release.

Through the program, children are given a book to take home at every regular check-up, along with encouragement for families to read daily. The American Academy of Pediatricians has listed literacy intervention as an essential part of pediatric care and has endorsed Reach Out and Read as an effective means for starting children on a path to success in school.

“This is a national program in partnership with pediatricians and others working with very young children,” Lavell said. “Literacy intervention has been shown to work well with pediatric care, and they’re trained in how to talk about and model literacy at well-child visits.”

Besides the free book given to children at the 12 local clinics active in the program, Solano County Library has “a literacy rich waiting area at the doctors offices, so we provide donated books for them to look at while they wait.”

The program started in Boston in 1999 and has been going on locally since 2000, Lavell said.

“In that time we’re at 230,000 books given away,” she said.

For the art contest, children of all ages can submit a piece of artwork, that may wind up being turned into a poster and displayed on doctors offices’ walls.

“Parents and caregivers, once your child has finished a picture, turn the original drawing in to any Solano County Library Branch along with an entry form available at the libraries,” Lavell said. “All entries will be featured on the library’s social media sites and winning entries will be turned into posters for display at Reach Out and Read clinics in Solano County to help other families learn about the joy and power of reading with kids.”

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All entries must be turned in by Feb. 24, and must include an entry form that can be found at any library branch. Winners will be notified in March. For more information, call Literacy Services at 784-1526.

About the Author

With the Times-Herald since 1999, Rachel Raskin-Zrihen has been a reporter, writer and columnist for several print and online publications for nearly 30 years. She is the married mother of two grown sons and lives locally. Reach the author at rzrihen@timesheraldonline.com
or follow Rachel on Twitter: @rachelvth.